LeatherAndVelvet
by ToReadandWrite
Summary: In hindsight, Sam should have expected Cat's friends to be just as crazy as her. In which Sam finally hangs with the Victorious gang. Multi-chap. Ships TBD, femslash likely.
1. Beginnings

Cat slumped down on the couch, dropping her backpack beside her. Sam glanced over and frowned, then flopped down beside her on the couch. "Hey kid, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Cat said sadly.

Sam shrugged and began to stand up again. "Okay then I guess I'll see what's in the refri-"

"Wait!" Cat anxiously yanked her back down.

"What?"

"It's not nothing!" Cat sniffled. "It's Jade."

Jade... Sam sifted through her memory. Who was Jade again? No... the ridiculous wannabe star was named Trina... Oh! "The freaky goth chick you have the picture of in your room?"

"Sam, she's not a freak! That's mean."

Sam threw her hands up in mock surrender. "Fine! What's up with her, though?"

"She thinks I don't want to be her best friend anymore. I've been having so much fun with you that I haven't hung out with Jade in forever... I'm a horrible person, aren't I?" She started to cry.

"Aw kid! Don't cry! Just... invite Jade over! She'll forgive you."

Cat sat up suddenly. "Ohmygod that's a great idea!" Sam grinned until Cat continued. "Then she can meet you and all three of us can be besties!"

"Uh... I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

Cat looked crestfallen.

"Look, this Jade chick. She probably is used to being the toughest girl in the room. Hanging out with me... Might not be the best chiz for her ego."

To Sam'a surprise, Cat giggled. "Don't worry, Sam. You're both softies... Especially you."

Sam raised an eyebrow and leaned in threateningly. "Oh, really?"

Cat leaned in too, lowering her voice and grinning. "Yeah, really."

Sam stood abruptly, smirking. "Well, Valentine, that sounds like a challenge... And mama never backs down from a challenge."

Cat watched the laptop, waiting for Jade to come onscreen. She finally popped up, looking annoyed. "What is it, Cat?" She threw Cat's name at her like it was a weapon.

"Jade, I know we haven't been hanging out much-"

"Thank God."

"Jade, please!"

"Whatever." An emphatic flip of the black hair.

"And I really miss hanging out with you-"

"Well at least one of us did."

"And I know you've never met Sam-"

"Yeah your cute new blonde girl, right?"

Cat pouted. "Don't be sarcastic. I thought you could come over tomorrow night and the three of us could hang."

"Fine. It's a good thing you're asking for tomorrow because if it were any other night I'd have plans."

Cat smiled and Jade rolled her eyes.

"But if this girl thinks she's hot chiz because she rides a motorcycle, she has another thing coming."

"Of course, Jade." Cat laughed.

"I mean it. Little blonde girls don't often take a liking to me."

"Good night, Jade."

"Night, babygirl."


	2. Awkward

"Tori!"

A familiar shriek rang through the halls of Hollywood Arts as Trina Vega (rather clumsily, thanks to her extra-high heels) approached her sister, who stood cowering next to Cat.

"TORI-"

"I'm right here!" Tori hissed, hoping to save herself from a scene. A little too late for that, she thought wryly, as a crowd started to form.

"Don't you people have lives?" She cried, and the crowd scattered.

She turned back to her fuming sister. "What is it, Trina?"

"You. Ruined. My. Pedicure."

"How?! You didn't even have a pedicure when I last saw you this morning!"

"Well, I stopped at the salon on my way here for a mani pedi, and then thanks to you, my pedicure was ruined!"

Tori stared. "... And how am I responsible, again?"

Trina rolled her eyes. "Um, because you didn't give me a ride from the salon, so I had to drive, ruining my toenails in the process? Duh."

"Couldn't you have called me to let me know I had to drive you here?"

"No, because then Id ruin my mani! Wow, you finally get your license like a normal teenage girl and you're too good to help out your sister?"

"You're so conceited, Tori," Robbie sobbed softly as he passed. "You're so conceited."

Tori banged her head against her locker in frustration.

"That's not a good idea, Tori." Cat said sagely. "One time, my brother banged his head against a locker and he had to go to the hospital! " She paused, thinking. "Actually it wasn't a locker, it was a cactus."

* * *

Cat pranced into the kitchen just as Sam was lowering the final slice of bread onto her sandwich.

"What's in that?" Cat asked playfully.

"Most of the refrigerator," Sam laughed, taking in Cat's appearance. A new yellow dress, perfectly curled hair, makeup... "What are you all dressed up for, Jade?"

Cat jumped at the sound o the doorbell ringing. "I forgot my headband! Can you get the door?"

"I'm eating my sandwich!" Sam called uselessly after Cat as she disappeared into her bedroom. She sighed and unlocked the door before returning to her sandwich.

And didn't look up as Jade strode in, deliberately ignored her, and shouted, "Cat!"

"Chill," Sam said through a mouthful of ham and God knows what else. "She'll be right out."

Jade narrowed her eyes. "Oh right, because you know all about her after living with her for a few weeks!"

"How is that even rela-"

"That's what I thought," Jade countered smugly. "So, do you have a boyfriend?"

"What?"

"Better stay away from mine."

"Oh wow, you really scare me."

Jade narrowed her eyes but was interrupted by the arrival of-

"Cat! I rented Titanic for us to watch."

Sam scoffed behind her. "That stupid movie?"

Cat gasped. "Take that back!"

Jade smirked at Sam. Jade-1, Sam-0.

"Fine, I'll watch it with you two."

Sam grabbed the remnants of her sandwich and plopped down on the couch next to Cat, swinging her legs over Cat's. Jade pursed her lips as she started the movie.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Halfway through the movie the doorbell rang and Cat jumped up, sending a sleeping Sam tumbling onto the floor. "I forgot we were going to babysit Adam!"

The child in question walked in, a little boy with a rather imperious air and barely eight years to boast of. "Cat! Guess what I found?"

"What did you find?" Cat asked, excitedly. Sam stirred on the floor. I swear, she's a child in the body of an attractive teenage girl.

"I found the tallest 8 year old in the world!"

"I'm sure you did, kid," Sam offered sarcastically.

"Really! He's huge! And I brought him with me!"

"Another child?" Jade groaned.

"His name's Andre!" Adam exclaimed, before reaching out the door to drag in a confused and extremely familiar African American teenager.

"Andre!" Cat gasped. "You never told me you were 8!"

"I'm not," Andre insisted. "I've been trying to tell him that for the past half hour."

Adam laughed. "Silly goose! If you're not 8, why does it say so on your shirt?"

Andre groaned. "I told you! That's my number! In basketball!" Then he noticed Sam. "Hey," he said smoothly. "My name's Andre."

"She's not interested!" Cat and Jade shouted at the same time, before glancing at each other and blushing.

No, not blushing. Jade West hates blushing.

"Wow, it's really great that I have you two. It's like I don't even have to talk for myself! Hey," she replied. "I'm Sam."

"Yeah, Cat talks about you a lot!"

"Um, no I don't!" Cat protested. "I definitely don't because why would I- I mean- um-" she broke off into forced laughter.

"I never thought I'd say this," Jade began. "But can we please get back to watching Titanic?"

All 5 agreed.

Unfortunately, Cat's tiny couch was not one of them.

"Get your hand off my chest, Cat," came Jade's muffled voice from the bottom of the heap.

"Sorry!" Cat squeaked. "I think I'm stuck!"

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you so much to Tanya-Lee and Rosalie0014. I added a little Sam/Jade just for you.

Any other ships you guys like? I'll try to have moments for almost every ship, since I loved how crack-y Victorious was with relationships.

Also, did anyone spot the references to The Breakfast Bunch and Driving Tori Crazy? Two great episodes.


	3. Guilt

Cat yawned as she entered the kitchen, pulling down her pink tank top as it rode up slightly. "Morning," she greeted Sam brightly.

"Sadly," Sam replied as she flipped a pancake.

"So what's cookin', good lookin'?"

Sam groaned. "Do me a favor and never say that again. Chocolate chip pancakes, though. Food of the gods, baby!"

Cat's eyes widened. "You've met gods?"

Sam decided to ignore that question. "So... I haven't met Jade's boyfriend yet," she said, trying to sound nonchalant.

Cat grinned. "Wow, did she mention Beck to you?"

"Yeah, told me to stay away from him... Wait, why are you laughing? Other than the fact that it was psycho of her to assume I wanted to hit on a guy I've never met... Although that seems in character for Jade."

"Well she and Beck aren't dating."

"Oh my god. Does she stalk him or something?"

"No! They're just on-off. And currently off."

Sam shrugged as she poured a generous amount of maple syrup over a stack of pancakes. "Figures that she's a possessive gank."

"What's that supposed to mean? Jade's my bestie, Sam!"

"Why else would she accuse me of coming on to a boyfriend-who's-not-actually-her-boyfriend who I haven't even met before?!"

Cat looked down and said nothing.

* * *

"Tori! Tori! TORI-"

"What?!" Tori appeared at the top of the stairs in a bathrobe, her hair still dripping. "Mom, I was in the shower!"

"Could you watch your sister for me?" Holly Vega smiled. "I'm going dancing tonight."

Tori looked confused. "But... Dad's not in town..." A handsome man appeared in the doorway. "Oh, Gary." Of course it was Gary. Tori bit her lip.

Her mom laughed. "Have a good night, girls!" She hooked her arm in Gary's. "L.A. better be ready for us!"

Tori sighed as the door shut behind her mother and... What, exactly, was she supposed to call Gary? Her father's partner and mother's... Thinking about what Gary was to her mother just made her nauseous.

She'd had a lousy day, and her mother's continuing affair was just the icing on the cake.

Maybe I can text Andre. We can write a song together, and I can get this out of my system instead of feeling like I want to cry, she thought...

* * *

The doorbell rang and Tori jumped up to answer it. "Thank you so much, Andre, you have no idea how awful today has been, and I just want to-" She blinked. "You're not Andre."

Cat smiled. "He had to help his grandma with something, so he sent me in his place. Ta-da!"

Tori frowned. "Um, okay. I was just hoping Andre would come because I was feeling kind of depressed, and..."

Cat patted Tori's shoulder as they sank onto the couch. "I understand. That's A Drag was cancelled recently, you know. I was so depressed, it was almost as bad as that time Mona Patterson died and-"

"She wasn't dead, Cat!" Tori's irritation was rising.

"Oh, or that one time I couldn't have any bibble and I was so sad..."

Tori groaned as Cat prattled on.

"Or the other night because I just looked at the sky and felt really small and unim-"

"Yeah, Cat, this is all really really sad, but some of us have real problems, okay?" Tori snapped.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look, Cat, you're really sweet but- I mean- you don't even know what sadness is!"

Cat spoke softly, studying her feet. "You know I'm bipolar, right?"

"Yeah," Tori said stubbornly, but she felt her heart sink. Oh, why did I say that...

"And do you know what that means?" Cat's eyes met hers, and Tori felt like something had shut down behind them.

"Cat... I'm sorry... I didn't..."

"No, Tori, you're- you're right. I guess I don't know what sadness is for... N-normal people." She was already at the door.

Tori watched her walk out. "Look, I... Goodnight, Cat," she muttered tiredly.

"Goodnight, Tori." Cat smiled, and then she was gone.

Tori buried her face in a pillow and screamed. Some days, she really, really hated her life.

* * *

Beck raised an eyebrow. "Dude, I know you love watermelons, but you gotta stop eating at some point."

Rex protested. "Don't interrupt the boy! This is serious training!"

"For a watermelon eating contest." Beck deadpanned.

"Well can you see this little nerd winning anything else?"

Beck shrugged. He always felt uncomfortable when Rex insulted Robbie. He was about to respond before he was interrupted by a large groan from Robbie, who has just finished the last watermelon.

"Victory... Is... Mine."

"Dude, don't talk. Just breathe."

"What if... My stomach turns into... A watermelon." Robbie lay slowly back onto his bed.

Beck stared at Robbie. "You're delirious."

"Or... A baby... Our watermelon... Baby." Robbie drifted off.

"Man down!" Rex cheered.

"Okay, Robbie, no more watermelons for you," Beck laughed, before frowning over Robbie's sleeping form. He looked kinda cute, unconscious, with that curly hair...

Beck rubbed his eyes. He may not have consumed inhuman quantities of watermelon, but he wasn't thinking straight either.

* * *

She shouldn't have locked herself in her room without giving Sam an explanation. She shouldn't have left Tori like that. She hadn't even let her explain why she was sad...

She tasted saltwater and brushed the tears away angrily. And now she had the nerve to cry, as if someone had hurt her instead of the other way around. Selfish. Stupid. Her thoughts were drowning her. Drowning. She had to breathe. She had to...

She called Jade, tried to say hello, and broke down crying.

Jade didn't even ask. "I'll be at your house in five minutes with lemonade."

Cat managed to blurt out, "Pink lemonade?"

"Okay, make that ten minutes."

"Will you give me a hug when you come over?" Cat sniffed. "Please?"

"Cat..." Jade hesitated. "I won't let go."

* * *

Author's Note:

I hope you liked this chapter! Please give feedback. Coming up: drama, babysitting, Andre appreciation, blasts from the past, etc. 3

Thank you to EAV13, Rosalie0014, XxLoverofLovexX, Sylkia Whacamolia, and Yuri-hime for the lovely comments! Jakarie, some Cori for you 3

Kit-the-Kitty: I'm right there with you on the shipping! Thank you for the thoughtful review.

Tanya-Lee: Thank you for the lovely review and I will definitely take your ship suggestions. I hope you continue to enjoy the story!


	4. Comfort

Sam tiptoed down the hallway and- expertly balancing the plate of bacon in her left hand- pushed the door to Cat's room open, slowly. The door didn't make a sound; Sam Puckett had certain talents.

Cat and Jade were fast asleep on opposite sides of the bed, red hair swirling into black, and for a moment Sam's heart caught in her throat. It wasn't Cat and Jade she was thinking of, though.

It was July in Los Angeles, but she could almost smell the Seattle rain, could almost see her mother's eyes, soft for once, following Melanie out the door.

Sam swallowed. For so long, her home had been with Carly and Freddie- but now Carly was gone, and her chaotic relationship with Freddie, and her webshow (she'd lived for that stupid thing)- and Sam had been stranded again.

In L.A., she was happy, and she'd felt needed for the first time in her life. Until now.

She shut the door as she chewed on a piece of bacon. This was stupid. Cat had known Jade for years before she met Sam. Of course she had gone to her for help. And did Sam, always the stray, really expect to find a home here?

She rolled her eyes at herself and smiled. She might not have a real home, but she did have a motorcycle. And hey, there had to be something fun to do in L.A.

* * *

Andre Harris was going to conquer this bunny.

Eventually.

Once he got the courage to get on the stupid jank thing.

"Alright there, bro?" Beck sidled over, barely suppressing his smirk.

"Shut up."

"Just remember that it could be worse-"

"I know Cat did it!"

"I was going to say that at least Jade isn't around to yell 'Hammer Time!' at you."

"You didn't make fun of Tori when she had issues! And I got past the Balls of Pain."

"Eh, wouldn't have been as fun."

"Eh? Really? You're so Canadian."

"I try."

Andre rolled his eyes, just as he noticed a flash of blonde curls. Was that- it couldn't be- "Hey, Sam!" He was about to find out.

Sam turned, brow furrowed. "Andre?" She started to walk over.

"Cat's roommate," Andre nodded to Beck by way of explanation.

"Ah."

Sam punched Andre in the arm as a greeting. "Dude, what are you doing here? This place isn't for eight-year-olds!"

Andre winced, rubbing his arm and glaring at Beck, who was snickering softly. He turned back to Sam, trying to play it cool. "Yeah, we like to hang out here. Me and Beck."

"Oh! So you're Jade's boyfriend." Sam gave Beck a once-over. "No wonder she's so protective."

Andre gave a little cough as Beck ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "We're. Not. Dating."

Sam grinned. "Oh yeah, Cat told me."

She looked at Andre. "So, does he say 'eh' a lot?"

They all laughed, which earned them more than a few dirty looks from the Gorilla Club crowd, obviously irritated by the taint to their street cred.

* * *

Cat looked up from the picture she was coloring with Jackie, a quiet seven-year-old who had taken to her right away. "Thanks for understanding, Robbie."

"Hey it's totally fine! I don't have an issue with babysitting."

Rex interrupted, "Well I do! We were gonna go to the mall! Now the only girls around are little kids or Miss Crazy over here."

Cat gasped. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Cat, he didn't mean it-"

"Speak for yourself!" Rex snorted.

Jackie paused in her coloring. "Cat, why is the puppet talking?"

Cat glared at Rex. "Because he doesn't know how to shut up!"

"He really doesn't," Robbie shrugged apologetically.

Jackie accepted this as a reasonable explanation and she and Cat resumed their coloring until-"Cat, you can't color the tiger pink."

"Why not?"

Jackie sighed before continuing patiently. "Because, tigers are orange and black."

Cat laughed. "This is obviously pink, not orange and black! You are so cute." She ruffled Jackie's hair before walking over to Robbie, leaving the poor girl awfully confused.

Robbie, meanwhile, had turned on the television. Cat squealed at his choice of show. "Ohmygod, you're watching Celebrities Underwater! I love it!"

"It's a classic," Rex agreed. "The junk food of television."

Cat froze. "Hey... Maybe you should watch something else."

"Why?" Robbie asked. "This is great!"

"Just... Because!" Cat giggled nervously.

"Cat, come on!"

"Sam says I can't play shows like this while babysitting."

"Oh," Robbie said. There was a beat. "Maybe we should hang out when you actually have room in your schedule. You know, outside of babysitting and Sam."

"Robbie..."

"It's fine. Hey, maybe I can show Jackie how to hambone!"

Jackie eyed him warily from her table.

* * *

Sam sidled over to where Cat sat on the couch. "Doing homework? Loser," she joked.

"Don't be mean."

Sam rolled her eyes and smiled at Cat. "I didn't mean that."

Cat cheered up. "Why don't you do homework with me?"

"Yeah... How about no."

"Come on! I'm not good at school, either. Just art and math. Oh! I could get Tori to tutor both of us! Or... I mean... Maybe not." She looked down.

"Hey, Cat..."

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong? C'mon, you can tell Mama Puckett."

"It's nothing," Cat mumbled. "I'm not sad. Don't I look happy?" She buried her face in her hands.

"Cat, why don't you trust me?"

Cat looked up, eyes wide. "Of course I do! I just... I don't want you to think I'm a freak."

"What do you m-"

"I'm bipolar. And, there are other things wrong with me, too. The doctors always got tired of trying to figure out what, so they stopped."

Sam stared as Cat continued. "I'm just all wrong and I can't be fixed and my parents are so disappointed but they're busy with my brother, and, and..."

Sam grabbed Cat's hand, stroked her palm in a desperate attempt to calm her down. "Cat! There is nothing wrong with you. Okay? I don't care what some bonehead doctor says."

Cat smiled weakly. "You're the first person who's ever thought that."

"Not even Jade?"

Cat shook her head innocently. "Jade says that I'm screwed up... And she likes me that way." There was a moment of awkward silence before Cat's eyes lit up.

"Oh my gosh, I need to give you a pajelehoocho!"

"Cat... never change."

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you so much to XxLoverOfLovexX, Cat Valentine and Mr. Purple, Jakarie, Sylkia Whacamolia, Tanya-Lee, glitterbows3, and DoIHaveTo for the reviews! They really mean a lot. I tried to incorporate all your suggestions and I hope you (and any new readers) are pleased with this chapter!

Headcanon: Cat's good at math. I had to put it in here.

By the way: I decided to be an evil fanfic writer this chapter and omit certain events. Don't worry, the next chapter will feature quite a bit of Jade!


	5. Angst

Jade pulled on a tank top, grabbing her phone from the side of her bed. No new text messages. Wow, wasn't she popular.

She eyed the two pairs of pants she'd stretched out on her bed: one denim and one leather, and both, of course, black. She couldn't wear the leather pants without looking like Faith fucking Lehane, but that wasn't really a bad thing. Might as well go with red lipstick to match.

She grabbed her bag and headed downstairs, stopping in the kitchen to grab a muffin.

"Jade." Her dad's voice was deadly quiet from behind her.

She turned slowly, responding with a sarcastic "yes, father?"

"What is this?" He slammed a piece of paper down on the kitchen.

She looked at it. "Oh. Invitation to the music festival I'm performing at." She rolled her eyes. "The invitation's for mom, dad, you don't have to come."

"I'm aware." He pursed his lips.

"Can I go now?" She asked impatiently.

"Jade, I'm serious."

"About what? Oh my god, please get to the point-"

"Cut the attitude. The point is that the showcase is during this festival."

"Showcase?"

"Don't play games with me. You know the one. Neva is sponsoring it."

"Everyone playing at that showcase is a talentless hack. No, thanks."

"And everyone in the audience will be from my company. I did a favor to you by letting you pursue a career in music, Jade. The least you can do for me is make it one I can be proud of you for."

"A tame one, you mean," Jade snarled. "Never mind artistic integrity, never mind me being happy about my music, all you want is something you can brag about, something your snooty colleagues will think is classy enough for-"

"Exactly," her dad snapped.

They were both breathing heavily now, glaring at the other with a challenge in their eyes. Jade left without a word, her eyes stinging.

She wished that one day he would just prove her wrong, show her that he really did care.

* * *

"Alright, Beck and Tori, I want you two on stage!"

Beck and Tori obliged quickly, scrambling to get to the front of the classroom.

"Page three of the script," Sikowitz demanded, taking a long draw from his coconut. "Come on now! We don't have all day!"

Beck cleared his throat and began to perform. "When I first saw you," he whispered, gazing at Tori, "I knew you were the one for me."

Tori smiled. "I fell in love with your laugh first, you know. Your eyes second." She reached out to touch his hand.

"I fell in love with you all at once-"

"Cut, cut, cut!" Sikowitz yelled. "Class, what did you think?"

Andre shrugged. "I thought it was pretty good-"

"Jade, what did you think?"

Jade raised her eyebrows. "Well I haven't vomited all over Robbie yet, but I wouldn't take that as an accurate representation of my feelings."

Robbie silently scooted his chair away.

Cat spoke brightly. "I thought Beck and Tori did a great job, they were so cute! It reminded me of my uncles in-"

"No one cares, Cat!" Jade snapped.

Cat looked at her shoes, crestfallen.

"What the real problem is here," Sikowitz announced. "Is that you're performing perfectly what's on the page!"

Beck looked confused. "Isn't that what we're supposed to do?"

"Not if it's boring! Which, by the way, is a trait you might want to tone down on in the future. In general. I recommend coconut milk. Lends a certain... Eccentricity."

Beck now looked extremely offended.

"Anyway! A good actor should make even the driest script entertaining. Now, if you were to be secretly disgusted with Tori, for instance-"

"I don't think I could be," Beck protested a little sheepishly; Tori grinned despite herself.

"Or if Tori were to harbor secret murder fantasies about you-"

"I'm not Jade," Tori muttered.

"-there would be interest there."

"For the record, I like the murder fantasy idea," Jade offered with an enigmatic smile.

"That's the spirit! We'll try another exercise next class. For now, class dismissed! And Beck, try that coconut milk!"

* * *

It was free period, and Cat was sitting alone in one of Hollywood Arts' recording studios, singing.

"I'm leaving tonight/just for a little while, you understand/

I need to figure out/why you can hurt me like no one else can/

And I need to know why /it makes me feel alive/Baby when you burn me/ it makes me feel alive..."

"What are you singing?" Jade deadpanned, and Cat jumped.

"Oh! It's a Rhea Jones song. You like it?"

Jade rolled her eyes. "It's not awful."

Cat grinned. "Wanna sing with me?"

"I pick the song. Howl by Florence + the Machine."

"Deal."

Soon they were singing together, Cat's sweet voice and Jade's rich one.

Cat began, "If you could only see the beast you've made of me..."

Jade grinned, leaned in for her lines. "... Drag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating heart."

Cat raised her voice, growing bolder. "Now there's no holding back..." She leaned in too. "My blood is singing with your voice, I want to pour it out."

"I want to find you, tear out all your tenderness," Jade sang, in a voice almost a growl.

Cat pulled Jade's arms around her, teasing, and Jade tensed up against her. "Until I wrap myself inside your arms I cannot rest," Cat sang, breaking off into laughter at the end of the line.

Jade pushed her away, face unreadable.

"Aww," Cat giggled, "we didn't get to the last chorus!"

Jade steadied herself against the piano, rolling her eyes. "You just make any song sound like its about bunnies."

"You like bunnies," Cat retorted petulantly.

"Yeah, and I also like scissors. Come on, lets go cut stuff up."

* * *

"I fucking hate math."

"I'm good at it!"

"I'm aware, Cat."

"Well, I am."

"Then help me with this fucking problem."

"Kay kay! ... So you're trying to solve a logarithmic equation?"

"Whoever wrote this textbook must have a sad, pathetic life."

"Jade, that's mean!"

"Ok, whatever, how do I solve the equation."

Cat leaned over to take a better look when her phone buzzed. "Ooh, it's Sam! She's taking me to that new yogurt place!"

"Now?"

"Yeah! I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Didn't you want to help me with my math homework?"

"Nah, that's okay!"

"Wha-"

"Bye!" Cat was already rushing out the door.

Jade sighed. Whatever. It was just the homework. It wasn't like she cared. Right? She closed her eyes, trying not to think about how her heart had raced as they sang together...

She brought out her phone and dialed a number. Tori's.

* * *

"Mmm, Momma says that was some good frozen yogurt."

"Whose momma?" Cat asked innocently.

"... Never mind. Hey, speaking of mommas, weren't you gonna call yours tonight?"

Cat bit her lip nervously.

"I... I can't."

"Yes you can!" Sam took Cats shoulders firmly. "Now, hit those buttons."

Cat slowly typed in her mothers number and hit Call.

"Hey, put it on speaker," Sam whispered, shifting on Cat's bed.

Cat obliged, and her mother's voice poured through. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Mommy, it's me, Cat! Am I..." Cat cleared her throat. "Um, you should add me to your contacts maybe."

"Oh, sure, honey! I always forget."

"Yeah," Cat said quietly.

"Well how are you doing, hon?"

Cat's eyes lit up. "Oh, I'm doing great! I have this roommate named Sam and we babysit and we have all these adventures and oh the other day we helped Goomer-"

"Whoa, slow down! I've been meaning to talk to you about this roommate."

"You have?" Cat said hopefully.

"Yes. Honey," she dropped her voice, "are you sure this is really fair?"

"Fair?" Cat echoed.

"You know, with your... Condition. To make someone live with you... It must be incredibly... Taxing, for them. I mean you have to admit, you don't exactly make it easy to take care of you."

Cat stared blankly at the phone.

"And this whole babysitting thing... I'm not sure it's good for other people's children to be exposed to your strange behavior. And the mood swings... And honey, you are taking your medication, right?"

"Yes," Cat answered.

"You do seem to be talking much less, which is a definite improvement."

"Um, mommy? Is Dad there? Or Dan?"

"Dan's been much better recently, I wouldn't want to expose him to a disturbance."

"Oh... Dad, then?"

"Of course!"

Cat waited. "Hello?"

"Cat! How's my sweetie doing?"

Cat brightened. "Great!"

"Keeping those grades up?"

"Yeah! I studied so hard for my chemistry test last week, and I finally got an A, and the teacher even gave me a gold star and I put it in my locker and-"

"Cat! Remember what I said about fifteen words?"

"Sorry, Daddy."

"There's my girl. Hey, I want you to get the lead in the school musical tho quarter. No losing out to that Jade, okay? Don't disappoint me."

"I won't, Daddy."

"I know. Well, I need to go now. You work hard!"

"Bye, Daddy!"

"Bye!"

Cat hung up, beaming. "Aren't my parents the best?"

"Well, they're still... Somewhat... In contact with you. And they seem to have their chiz together. All in all, better than mine!"

Cats grin faltered. "I said, aren't they the best?"

Sam frowned. Neglectful, seeing their daughter as a burden, manipulative, and borderline emotionally abusive? They were hardly the best. But definitely not the worst. "Sure, they are."

* * *

Author's Note:

Hey guys, still alive here! ;) And doing my best to update whenever possible.

As you can tell this chapter had a bit of a "story" feel to it rather than the usual show style because I felt like playing around with the character and relationship development. I'll definitely have more characters in the next chapter.

Thank you so much to XxLoverOfLovexX, Jakarie, Sam, Tanya-Lee, Jojobean209, CAMxx, Atsirk Enoh, BlowMeFire, u r awesome, and star197!

Chase19 and mennanenna, love your ideas! I may combine them ;)

If I didn't mention anyone I am so sorry and I still love you, I'm just insanely tired right now. Every review truly makes me smile.


	6. Music

Robbie turned to Andre silently only to see his own fear reflected in Andre's brown eyes. They watched the door warily, knowing that she would return.

"I'm scared," Andre whispered.

Robbie panicked. "Shh! What if she hears us?!"

"Wait! She's coming."

The two braced themselves at the sound of approaching footsteps, and held their breath as she walked in, a smirk on her lips.

"Miss me?"

"Please, let's just get this over with."

She cocked her head. "And what do you mean by that?"

"We'll write you a song,Trina! Okay?"

Tina beamed. "Yay! You really do appreciate my talent!"

Andre mumbled to Robbie under his breath. "I'm regretting this already."

"Come on, remember why we're doing it in the first place. We'd rather hear a good song with a bad voice than a bad one with a bad voice."

"I'm waiting!"

"Okay, okay. Um. What do you want in your song?"

"What do I want?"

"Here we go," Robbie sighed.

"All I want is... Everything! Seriously, go big. Too much is not enough." Trina beamed.

Andre's headache was definitely growing stronger.

* * *

Jade knocked on the door impatiently. Okay, it was a little more like banging.

The door swung open to reveal a very annoyed Tori in glasses and sweatpants. "What do you want, Jade?"

Jade responded by shoving past Tori into the living room. She raised her eyebrows. "Didn't I tell you I was coming over?"

"No. You called, asked if I was home alone-which is kind of a creepy question, now that I think about it- and when I said yes, you hung up."

Jade rolled her eyes. "You know, it's unhealthy to get caught up in details."

Tori groaned. "It probably won't make a difference, but I'll reiterate anyway: what do you want, Jade?"

"You could tell me about all the bad things that have happened to you recently, that always cheers me up."

"Just leave, please?"

Jade laughed bitterly. "Guess I'm not really worth anyone's time today..."

Tori frowned. Jade hadn't come here to hang out, or even just to bother her. She'd come here for help, help she couldn't get from anyone other than Tori, help she was too proud to admit she needed... "Guy troubles?" Tori concluded.

Jade shot her a look. "I wish."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The question appeared to upset Jade more than was normal, but she stayed silent.

"Come on, Jade. Can't we ever talk about things like normal people? You're either begging on your knees for comfort, or refusing to talk to me completely!"

"I don't beg," Jade snapped, but she was already nearing the door.

Tori sighed as the door slammed shut. She'd just patched things up with Cat, only to screw things up with Jade. She needed to relax...

* * *

House parties were barely a step up from drinking in her bathroom, but at least they had a lot of vodka. Jade had been sitting on the steps for the past half hour, but after the third couple tripped over her on the way upstairs, she decided it was time to dance.

The music was terrible, but hey, all she needed was a rhythm, and she could lose herself in the music.

Ha, what a lie. Jade's curse was that her thoughts never left her, and the vast majority of her brain not dedicated to swaying her hips was dedicated to the feelings that had brought her here in the first place.

When she was with Beck, she hasn't hung out with the rest of the gang alone, except for Cat. And now that she and Beck had broken up, she'd realized just how disconnected she was from them... Because as much as she insisted that they weren't her friends, she relied on them now. And when they disappointed her, it hurt more than she'd like to admit.

Cat was different. But Cat still hurt.

She knew she was difficult. She'd made herself that way, built herself up with walls and thorns. She had to remind herself that this is why she'd done it, to avoid this pain, this vulnerability, these feelings of not being good enough for her friends. After all, if no one knew who Jade West really was, no one could dismiss her as worthless. No one could give her their heart and then rip it from her (although Beck had done it, and she swore that was never happening again).

But walls and thorns kept people from falling in love with Jade (they had kept Beck from it, she had realized at the end). They didn't keep her from falling in love. And she didn't even mean that in a romantic sense, because really she'd fallen in love with her group of friends.

Jade stopped dancing. Fuck, she couldn't be sober now.

* * *

"Things have been pretty bad recently," Tori admitted. "With... My mom... And everything... I've just been snapping at people and I feel awful about it."

"Hey, Tori, come on. You've forgiven other people for their bad moods before, right? You're going through something stressful, you're gonna act a little off. Don't worry. You're still the same Tori."

Tori gave Beck a weak smile. "Thanks, Beck. You always cheer me up."

"Yeah, you look so cheerful," Beck joked. "But you will be, soon." With that he pulled his phone from his pocket and began to play a song. "Dance with me?"

Tori laughed and obliged, and soon they were swaying across the room together.

Beck ended the song by trying to dip her, but they ended up crashing into the couch, laughing. "You always cheer me up, too. Even if we're the only ones dancing."

* * *

"Hey, Tori, have you seen Jade?"

"Wow, Cat, it's like 3 AM. Yeah, last night actually... Is something wrong?"

"Um, her dad just called... He's looking for her. He said it's way past curfew for her. Then he started ranting about a festival or something... Oh my god!"

"What?"

"What if he wants to take her to a festival? Do you think she'd take me too?"

"Uh, Cat..."

Tori could hear an irritated voice-Sam's-across the phone: [hey, if you go to that festival, you can stay there as long as you want. Like, years.]

"Oh my gosh, do you think they'd let me do that?"

"Cat," Tori interjected. "Back on topic. Who have you asked about Jade?"

"Um, you, Andre, Beck, and Robbie. I just assumed she wasn't with Sikowitz, Lane, or Sinjin. I mean, that covers basically everyone at our school!"

"What about the nodders?"

"Don't be silly, Tori. If they don't talk, how are they gonna tell me where Jade is?"

Tori sighed. "Look, I'll call some other people. I'll tell you if I find anything out."

"Kay kay!" Cat replied. Then, in a smaller voice:"You don't think anything happened to her, do you?"

"Nah," Tori said, half reassuring Cat and half herself. "Jade's a tough girl. She'll be okay."

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you lovely readers CAMxx, Jakarie, XxLoverOfLovexX, ToTheYoungWhoWantToDie, drgonlance36, KirbyPaint, Atsirk Enoh, u r awesome, and Hiway202! (And the anonymous Buffy-loving guest!)

We will definitely see Sam again next chapter, and perhaps an appearance of Dice or another Sam & Cat character! This chapter was rather heavy so while the next chapter will follow through with earlier plot points there will be lighthearted moments and hopefully a babysitting adventure. I just love how many different ways I can play with these characters and I'm really having fun with this story.

Thank you so much for reading, this is such a wonderful creative outlet for me and your feedback means a lot!


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